


Fin

by Squire7



Category: Lion (2016 Film)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squire7/pseuds/Squire7
Summary: My interpretation of Sue's description of her 'vision' in the film.
Relationships: Sue Brierley & Saroo Brierley





	Fin

**Author's Note:**

> tw: child abuse, suicidal thoughts

I tumble down the stairs into the back garden, curling into a ball in case _he_ follows me. But all he does is scream. Scream and shout and yell. “And don’t come back! ” I can hear his roar long after he slams the door. 

I begin to feel the splinters lodged in my arms, the bruises beginning to form all over my body – from the mad bash and crash down the back stairs and away from him. I spit blood from my mouth. I had bitten the inside of my cheek, letting the salty, bitter taste drip onto my tongue. It only reminds me of my empty stomach, grumbling and growling, making my mouth water and only barely diluting the metallic red taste that is so much like vegemite. I can smell the dinner that I made. I regret not nibbling at the food now– I probably won’t have any until tomorrow morning. The aroma of warm potatoes and roast vegetables makes my mouth water. The chicken, stuffed full of chestnuts, breadcrumbs, cheese and spices. 

I stare out across the field, still collapsed on the ground; I get up. The grass has not been cut in a long, long time. It reaches to my waist, tickling, irritating my bare feet and arms, my legs, exposed up to my shorts. There’s a tree on the other side – I could sleep up there. I’ve done it before. I’ve done it enough to know that if I sleep on the ground, I’ll wake up with a face full of Tasmanian devil or wallaby. The grass swishes in the wind, the tree’s towering boughs moving with it. 

I can still smell the fierce odour of his alcohol. A filthy reminder of my father – will he ever leave me? I wish the earth would just swallow me up. Leave a hole; a gaping maw for me to disappear into. Like the one inside of me. Would he cry? Would he cry if I left him; left here? Big, gaping sobs that wrack my whole body, force me to collapse back onto the ground. I crawl back up the stairs in desperation, knowing my mission is pointless. “Let me in! Let me back in!” I gasp. “Please…” I whisper this time. I lean back against the door and gaze across the field. 

A shiver runs through me. All of a sudden, I see a boy. He’s young, bony and light, like you could push him over with just your pinkie finger. His skin is dark, like chocolate, and his hair is thick and curly. I jump, because suddenly he’s beside me, and I can feel his warmth, his _life_ , and he takes my hand. He takes my hand and I could feel, just through his fingers that he was protecting me, from _him_ and from everything else, and that he knew I was going to be 

_fine._


End file.
